The United States Mint primarily produces circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792, and originally placed within the Department of State. Per the terms of the Coinage Act, the first Mint building was in Philadelphia, then the capital of the United States; it was the first building of the Republic raised under the Constitution. Today, the Mint's headquarters are in Washington D.C. which is not a coin producing facility. It operates mint facilities in Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco, and West Point (New York state), and a bullion depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Official Mints (branches) were once also located in:
- Carson City, Nevada
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Dahlonega, Georgia
- Manila, the Philippines.
- New Orleans, Louisiana
Chief engravers and their initials on coins (note that there are gaps when the post was vacant):
1. 23 November 1793 - 3 November 1823 Robert Scot
2. 1824 - 27 August 1840 William Kneass
3. 1840 - 23 July 1844 Christian Gobrecht
4. 1844 - 1 January 1869 James B. Longacre
5. 1869 - 31 August 1879 William Barber
6. 1879 - 18 February 1917 Charles E. Barber
7. 1917 - 4 January 1925 George T. Morgan
8. 1925 - 14 May 1947 John R. Sinnock
9. 1948 - 1964 Gilroy Roberts
10. 23 February 1965 - 16 January 1981 Frank Gasparo (initials FG).
11. 1981 - 1991 Elizabeth Jones
- the post was vacant 1991 to 2006
12. 19 May 2006 - 30 December 2010 John M. Mercanti
- the post was vacant 2010 - 2019
13. 4 February 2019 - present Joseph Menna |
